• WAV files
• WMA files
  • lots of wildcat WMA files
• MP3 files
• Bobcat growls!
• Some Wild Cat Vocalisations (new page)

I think the first thing to note is that

How far can and do we go when communicating with our cat?

The forms of vocal communication are listed below. Different species of wildcat use different sounds. The domestic cat also uses some of these sounds. The hiss is described as a “nonvocal sound”¹.

• spit – intense explosive burst of noise – threatening behavior/fights. Domestic cats don’t spit. The sand cat combines the hiss and spit.
• hiss – mimicking a snake – attack/defense. See video of serval’s defensive hiss. The hiss delivered by a wildcat, is substantially more energetic and loud than that of a domestic cat. It can be quite intimidating. Below is a video of a serval hissing. The hiss is produced when exhaling. It falls under the catergory of a “strained intensity call” – used when under “intense emotional stress”² by a domestic cat.

• growl – deep rolling rrrr – like spitting and hissing. Aggressive. Varies in length. Can indicate preparation to attack. Mouth is closed. A “strained intensity call”.
• snarl – defensive sound. Produced with teeth showing.
• gurgle – short sound of about half a second. Produced at close range. A friendly sound used in courtship, mating and mother to kittens. At least 22 wildcat species are said to use the gurgle. There are two types: cooing and bubbling¹.
• prusten – short at less than one second and low in intensity – close range friendly sound. It sounds like a horse snorting apparently. This cat sound is produced by the tiger, clouded leopard, snow leopard and jaguar it is thought.
• puff – close range friendly situations.
• purr – close range. Produced when inhaling and exhaling. Also can be produced when drinking. This sound first produced by kittens when nursing as a signal to mother all is well. Mother purrs back. Categorised as a “murmur pattern”.
• main call with grunt – long distance signal.
• roaring – long distance communication (lion, leopard and jaguar only). The reason why the tiger is missing is because it “lacks the grunt as part of a “roaring sequence”.
• grunt – females calling cubs.
• wah-wah – close approach of two animals.
• chatter – desirable prey out of reach – practicing the bite. This can be seen in domestic cats at windows while they watch birds for example. The only wild cat that chatters is the European lynx¹.
• aohhuu (this is not a technical description) – request or demand for recipient cat to leave the area. This is not a sound listed by the authors of Wild Cats of the World but by me.
• trill/chirrup – the Maine Coon cat, a purebred domestic cat is a well known producer of this sound.
• mating call – by female during estrus to attract toms. Categorised as a vowel sound in domestic cats.
• mating cat – by male when competing with other males. Catergotrised as a strained intensity call in domestic cats.
• trill/chirrup – Maine Coon are knwon for these but all cats in varying individual styles do them. They are a form of greeting.
• Strange sound like No, No! made by a fearful domestic cat
• See jaguarundi sounds (vocalizations) – there are 13 different sounds.

These audio files can be tricky to play because audio formats are a pain in the bum to be honest. It depends on what software you are running and that depends on Windows or Mac. Sorry but I can’t do much about it.

server and run them from there. To download a file please follow this:

Right click on the text link and select “Save Link As…” (see image below). A download window will pop up and you can select the destination for the file to be downloaded.

WMA – Cat Sounds WAV WMA MP3 – The next batch of audio files are in the

For WMA files simply click on the link and if you use a windows operating system the standard download mini-window will appear asking if you want to play the file or download it.

If you select to play it your default player will run, which is probably windows media player. You can select another player if it is available on your computer. This is how it will or should look:

It is not possible to play WMA files on a Mac using Quick Time Player or iTunes. You have to convert to one of the other formats on this page that play using Quick Time Player

You can can

Cat Fight Sound Mp3 Free Download

Tiger chuff greeting -the tiger saying hi!

Ocelot greeting – the ocelot is a small wildcat. The greeting is strange and unnerving.

Tiger Roar – this is a link to a new page on this subject.

Cat Fight Sounds Mp3 Download Free

Sand cat spitting hissing – this is a strange click (the spit?) then hiss that are merged. The click is not a sound recording defect but part of the hiss.

Mountain Lion Sounds – this is not a link to an audio file but to a new page about the sounds that the Puma makes.

Siamese cat meowing -nice long session of a Siamese cat’s typical vocal meow. See traditional Siamese cats.

Free Mp3 Sound Downloads

Cat in Heat – Cats make a range of sounds in heat but this is one of them when she calls.

Cat Chattering – classic chattering at a bird. The cat is instinctively practicing the biting motion that takes place when prey is caught which breaks the spine of the bird at the nape of the neck.

Domestic cat growl – your standard growl, which is usually followed by the hiss.

Domestic cat hiss – the standard hiss designed to mimic the snake to frighten an adversary.

Caterwauling is a term that seems to be used to mean slightly different things to different people.

Caterwauling definition
1.To cry or screech like a cat in heat.

Caterwauling has been described as the the male cat makes when sexually excited, sometimes as a prelude to a fight over a female. The book Wild Cats Of The World explain caterwauling as loud long distance calls intended to bring cats together for mating. For the American bobcat they can be heard about a mile away. Cat Sounds WAV WMA MP3

MP3 – Cat Sounds WAV WMA MP3 – The next batch are

They can’t be played (as far as I can see) by Windows Media Player probably because they were a competing audio format but Apple’s QuickTime Player will play these files once downloaded.

The image below shows what the player looks like. The software is a free download from this site: (opens in a new window).

More about the sounds the bobcat makes on this page: Bobcat Sounds. I will be building a fresh Bobcat soundboard in the future. The old one has been changed by soundboard.com. I need to create a new one (date 24th July 2012). In the meantime here are some jaguarundi vocalisations:

Cat Sounds WAV WMA MP3 to Home page

Cat Sounds WAV WMA MP3 – Photos:

• Cat meowing: by anna pearson (opens in a new window)
• WMA icon – fair use is argued as per the rationale set out on the Wikipedia website.
• MP3 icon came from: iconfinder.net – if this is copyright material I plead fair use and adopt the same arguments as for the WMA file icon.
• 1. Wild Cats of the World pages 421-424. ISBN-13:978-0-226-77999-7
• 2. The Cat, Its Behavior, Nutrition & Health. ISBN 978-0-8138-0331-9

What Other Visitors Have Said

Click below to see contributions from other visitors to this page…

Simon’s Song
Simon, Able Seacat, as many know, was a very courageous black and white ships cat during the Yangtze incident in 1949.

There are a couple of articles …

Cat Sounds Mp3 Free

Free Cat Sounds Downloads